I normally decline wedding invitations. I have a distaste for the forced celebration of most of them. I still do. And I will continue to decline invitations to weddings. But, this past Saturday, I attended a wedding of someone who I met through my good friend, U. U. is an old and dear friend of the bride's. He was told that he could bring a guest but was also told to bring someone with some refinement. Guess I was the default.

I am friends with the bride and have met the groom a couple of times. The bride is one of the funniest, most genuine, and most upbeat person that I have met. The groom is just wonderful. When I agreed to attend the wedding with U., I was told that it was black tie. So, I dug into my closet to pull out my best dress-up gear. To respect the couple, I put on a tie for the first time in about 10 years.

To say that the wedding was spectacular would not give it justice. The nuptials were so heartfelt. The couple was so happy. There was nothing cheesy or routine about it. It was just beautiful. The wedding march music was Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve played by a string trio. They entered the reception to the band blaring Crazy In Love by Beyonce on their trumpets. There was no cake; just a whole bunch of cupcakes and a plethora of other sweets. I had too many kir royales. I had too many crab legs. I had too much sushi. I had too much fun.

I am not overly fond of weddings either. When you consider the statistics of only one in two marriages surviving (USA Stats), the chances are that you'll be going to their next wedding in a few years time!

Weddings should be cheap i think. All the expensive food and music is great but at the end of the day it should be about the couple rather than the event.

I hope you are well mate and surviving autumn in NY. Are you up to anything for halloween?